Dark Sky Wales

24/09/2024

For astrophotographers, the early morning hours provide a wonderful opportunity to see Jupiter, Mars, the Moon, and Orion rising in the east.

22/09/2024

A short video we put together a few years back to explain the Autumnal Equinox. We hope you enjoy it.

16/09/2024

Still looking very promising for possible tonight!

16/09/2024

If you cannot sleep on the night of Wednesday, 18th September, then take a look at the Moon! It will be in a partial eclipse. For exact times check out the website below.

Partial lunar eclipse on September 17–18, 2024: Where and when is the Moon eclipse visible and what will it look like? Visibility map, animation, and local times.

15/09/2024

Tomorrow night, we may see the once again! The moon may be a hindrance, but it may be worth finding a dark northern horizon and enjoy the show!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

www.darkskywalestrainingservices.co.uk

14/09/2024

“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”

Join Dark Sky Wales under the stars www.darkskywalestrainingservices.co.uk

13/09/2024

One of our customers enjoyed the Aurora last night.

13/09/2024

Open the picture to enjoy the fantastic auroral display we had tonight!

13/09/2024

What a night!

12/09/2024

Possible Aurora tonight! Typically though it's as cloudy as can be where I currently am!!!!! Hopefully it will clear as predicted.

08/09/2024

If your interested in learning more about the night sky then we are your place to be! GCSE Astronomy is a great introduction to the subject and is taught solely online by our expert tutor.

Drop Allan an email at [email protected]

08/09/2024

We only have a few places left for this year's GCSE Astronomy cohort! If you are interested in signing up, then email [email protected] for further information. We even make it easier by offering monthly instalments.

07/09/2024

Last evening's setting sun from the wonderful Cambrian Mountains - Area Of Astounding Natural Beauty and Wigwam Holidays Hafren. Our guests got lots of beautiful views of our nearest star.

06/09/2024

We still have a few spaces left on our GCSE Astronomy course. Drop Allan an email [email protected] for further information.

03/09/2024

We had a visit from the FLASH!!!

02/09/2024

Are you a school teacher looking for some inspiration? Then look no further! Dark Sky Wales mobile Planetarium is here! Transform your school hall into the entire Universe and explore the heavens with one of our astronomers! All we need is a big space and a powerpoint, we provide the rest.

Get in touch with Allan at [email protected] for further details or book directly via our website

We are now able to resume normal operations. Group Stargazing experiences will now NOT be susceptible to cancellation for inclement weather (we will only cancel in exceptional circumstances such as extreme weather, dangerous conditions as deemed by a management risk assessment or staff illness), and...

01/09/2024

Unfortunately due to several abusive emails, telephone calls and reviews we have chosen to clarify our booking policy.

Our Group Stargazing experiences go ahead whatever the weather as an astronomical talk will be provided in the event weather preventing observing. This is highlighted when purchasing the experience, again when you book the experience and finally in the week leading up to the experience. We allow rescheduling of the experience up to 7 days beforehand and will always endeavour to observe.

If you want to attend with guaranteed clear skies then choose our Stargazing and Astrophotography, Private Couples or Family experience. In the event of inclement weather you will be informed at least 48 hours beforehand and will receive regular updates during the week leading up to the experience. Your voucher will remain valid for future rebooking.

As the experiences are weather dependent we will only provide refunds under exceptional circumstances and are not responsible for any accommodation bookings you've personally made!

I hope this clarifies our policy and that in future staff will not suffer abusive of any sort.

As an aside, stargazing can only take place in the night and not during the day when we have clear skies!!!

31/08/2024

A cheeky little aurora last night! lasted about 5 minutes, then we had misty conditions.

28/08/2024

Fancy looking at one of the gems of the night sky? Then check out our website www.darkskywalestrainingservices.co.uk

Albireo, or Beta Cygni, is actually the fifth brightest star in the constellation Cygnus, at magnitude 3.0. Its name originates in misunderstandings and bad translations. Albireo's original Arabic name was "Minqar al-Dajajah", meaning "the hen's beak". Latin scholars misunderstood and thought that the name came from a kind of herb, and translated it into "ab ireo" ("from ireus"). Later this was treated as a misprint and transcribed as "al-bireo".

Albireo is a celestial gem, a pair of stars coloured indigo and gold embedded in the glittering background of the Cygnus Star Cloud. Albireo may be the most observed double star because of its stunning colours and the easy-to-find location at the foot of the Northern Cross. When viewed with a telescope, it readily resolves into a double star separated by 35", consisting of amber Albireo A at magnitude 3.1 and sapphire Albireo B at magnitude 5.1. It is unknown whether the two components are orbiting each other as a binary system. If they are, their orbital period is at least 75,000 years.

In 1976, component A was itself discovered to be a binary star. An orbit for the pair has since been computed using interferometric measurements; on average, they are separated by about 40 AU and take almost 100 years to go about each other in a highly eccentric orbit. However, as only approximately a third of the orbit has been observed, its parameters must be considered preliminary. The current angular separation between the components, around 0.4", is tantalisingly close to the limit, which can be resolved visually through 20" or larger instruments under perfect seeing conditions.

25/08/2024

We still have a few spots available for our GCSE Astronomy tutoring for 2024/25. If you're interested, please contact [email protected].

We provide monthly payments to help you spread the cost.

21/08/2024

When the sky begins to dance!

19/08/2024

So tonight we have a Supermoon, which isn't really a supermoon, rather just a little closer in its orbit! Also a blue moon, which isn't really blue, probably orange!!!! due to ash from Canadian wildfires.

You've got to love media hype!!!

If you want to find out what the definition of a blue moon actually means check out the Dark Sky Wales YouTube channel or better still consider signing up for our GCSE Astronomy course. Contact [email protected] for further information.

19/08/2024

Want to learn more about the night sky? We've got you covered! From STARGAZING EXPERIENCES to GCSE ASTRONOMY Dark Sky Wales has them all! Drop [email protected] for more information, or check out our website www.darkskywalestrainingservices.co.uk

17/08/2024

Aurora again???? Weathers not so good but worth a watch.